The New Zealand cherry harvest is well underway, the first harvest for the domestic market took place on 15th of December at PurePac, based in Cromwell, Central Otago. This was followed by the first picking for export on 23rd December.
“A cold snap in November meant we were around a week later than normal with our first harvest,” said Jeff Chambers, Sales Manager at PurePac. “We also had some rain during harvest, but nothing really out of the ordinary weather wise.
The company are now harvesting the Sweetheart and Staccato varieties. Yields are down slightly, but quality is good according to Jeff.
“This is the earliest Chinese New Year we have ever had and export for that market went well, but we will certainly have challenges now as markets close for the holidays.”
PurePac will continue to harvest the Staccato variety until early-February.
For more information:
Jeff Chambers
PurePac
Tel: +64 21 707 575
[email protected]
www.purepac.nz
